Children's home run by Heartwood Residential Services Ltd in Barnet

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the home has had a change in management. The manager in place at the time of the full inspection left the home and an experienced former manager has returned to manage the home. Staff say they welcome the changes. They state that they are more positive and feel empowered to do their jobs. The management team is strengthened further with the addition of a deputy manager who is experienced in working in residential care. The requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed by the home. The home has had a significant turnaround of young people over the past six months. A number of young people have left the home at short notice and not always in a well planned manner. Some young people have been involved in local gang related violence and drug related issues. This has had a negative impact on the home. The behaviour of the young people has posed considerable challenges

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

to the staff team in terms of behaviour management. This has resulted in a high level of police call-outs to the home. Pre admission impact risk assessments lack detail and analysis, which limits their effectiveness. Some children living at the home have suffered bullying due to their sexual orientation. Staff are aware of this issue and have taken steps to address it via house meetings and direct interventions with individual young people. Young people like living at the home and feel safe and well cared for. They also view the change of manager as positive and describe the new manager as ‘one of the best’. Young people feel that staff advocate on their behalf and support them to address issues. This includes ensuring their views are made know to their social workers. Parents of young people placed at the home are also very positive about the care their children receive. They praise the communication between staff and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

themselves and feel that they all work together as part of a team. The induction process for new staff has improved and staff report that the initial training they have received has been of good quality. However, the manager has yet to complete a development plan and does not have an effective method of recording and monitoring staff training and development. All staff receive supervision, which demonstrates evidence of being reflective in content. However, the frequency of supervision varies between staff with some staff receiving supervision on a monthly basis and others going several months between supervision sessions. External monitoring of the home takes place on a regular basis and the reports are detailed and informative. They provide a useful tool in assisting the manager to identify areas of development. Although the management team are aware of the need to complete their own internal monitoring reports, these have yet to be

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to care for up to five young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. It is run by a private company who also operate another children’s home in the local area.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

26/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

45: Review of quality of care (1) The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months 30/07/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). In particular the plan should detail the process and timescales for supervision (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 The information set out in the Statement of Purpose is an essential part of agreement between the registered person and placing authority that a placement in that home is the right one for that child, and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child's assessed needs. In particular, this relates to the completion of pre admission risk assessments (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards, page 15, paragraph 3.6).

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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